Machine for defibrating fibrous plants.



.No. 722,556. v PATENTED MAR. 10, 1903 W. S. BELD ING. MACHINE FORDEFIBRATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1901.

no MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY m: "cums PETERS co. PMbru-uma. WASHINGTON. n. c.

No. 722,556. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1903.;

W. s. BELDING! MACHINE FOR DEFIBRATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1901.

10 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET mww , ATTORNEY Noi 722,556. PATENTED MAR. 10,1903.

I W." s. BELDING. MACHINE FOR DEFIBRATING PIBROUS PLANTS;

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1901.

10 MODEL. 6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wnuasszs: j INVENTOR ,No. 722,556. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1 03.-

w. s. BELDIN'G MACHINE FOR DEFIBRATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

' "APPLICATION TILED JAN. 19, .1901.

I0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ATTORN EY I I r n m Q h m v I M R B E 1 T Q w #5 a Wm ow 2 & L I 7R3. RX.N f m J 0 a 3s El WITNESSES. gwoww 01 No. 722,556- PATENTED MAR. 10,1903. W. S. BELDING. MACHINE FOR DEFIBRATING FIBROUS PLANTS. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 19, 1901.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

R0 MODEL.

lllllllllll WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN S. BELDING, OF HAOKENSACK, NE\V JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO EYSSEN-PACKER DEFIBRATOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR DEFIBRATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

SPECIFICATION. forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,556, dated March10, 1903. Application filed January 19, 1901. Serial No. 43,850. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern.- for powerful feeding-rollers which willgrip Be it known that I, WARREN S. BELDING, a the reeds tightly in orderto force them into citizen of the United States, and a resident of themachine, and if they are soft or small the town of 'Hackensack, in thecount-y of Berthey will frequently buckle between the feed- 5 5 5 genand State of New Jersey, (having my ing devices and the splittingdevices; also, it

post-office address Overlook avenue, Hack-- has been found impossible tomake the slitensack, New Jersey,) have invented a new ting devicescontinuous in their operation, and useful Machine for Use in theDefibrabecause they clog so quickly that a large tion of Fibrous Plants,such as Ramie, Jute, part of the running time has been necessarily 6oand the Like, of which the followingis a speciconsumed in clearing themachine of obstrucfication. tions; also, as they have been constructedIn order that my invention may be better individual strands of the fiberinevitably sepunderstood, I will briefly refer to certain prior aratefrom the main body of the fiber in their attempts which have been madeto accompassage through the machine and become 65 I plish thedefibration of fibrous plants by the entangled in and woundaround theparts in aid of machinery. Most of the machines such manner that mostannoying delays inheretofore devised for this purpose have beencessantly occur, necessitating stoppage of the so constructed that thereed or stalk has been machine for the removal of these woundsubjectedto a breaking action, whereby the up fibers; also, in some of themachines of 7c woody and pithy interior has been broken up this class ithas been found impossible to into small sections or pieces and then inorproperly slit or divide reeds of different sizes der that the wood andpith may be separated or the different ends of the same reed, befrom thefiber the broken-up reeds have been cause of differences in size. Thebutts of the subjected toa beating, brushing, scraping, or stalks varyin diameter from one-quarter 75 similar operation. Such machines havenot ofan inch to three-quarters, or thereabout, been successful,althoughused toacertain limand thetwo ends of a normal reed also differ itedextent, for a number of reasons, among markedly on the ratio of aboutone to three. them the fact that during the breaking up of As a resultof many and long-continued exthe reed the fiber, which is on theexterior of 'periments in this matter, during which I have 80 c thestalk, is necessarily subjected to violent built several machines, Ihave devised and strains, tending to its disruption and injury;constructed the one hereinafter to be doalso, the fiber is necessarilysnarled or more scribed, which in a recent test has been found or lesstangled during the beating operation. to do its work with very greatsatisfaction Oonsequentlyalarge proportion of the fibrous and to becommercially profitable. 8 material has been wasted. Referring to thedrawings hereof, Figure 1 In order to avoid the stated and otherobillustrates a plan view of the machine comjections to thebreakingmachines, others plete. 1 Fig. 2 illustrates a section sideelevahave been devised which were supposed to tion of the machine, asshown in Fig. I. Fig. split the reed from end to end, so that the 3illustrates a plan view of the parts of the 90 4o separation of the woodand pith from the fiber machine shown in .Fig. 1 back to the sepa couldbe effected more easily and without inrators. Fig. 4 illustrates a sideelevation of jury to the latter. that which is shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5is a My present invention relates to the lastvertical sectional sideelevation. Fig. 6 illusnamed class of machines. The former ones trates avertical sectional elevation of the 5 of this class, with all of which Iam familiar, feeding, slitting, and ribbonizing mechanism. having hadextensive personal and practical Fig. 7 illustrates an end view inelevation of experience with the best of them, have proven the primaryfeeding-rollers. Fig. 8 illustrates of little practical value for anumber of reaan elevation of one of the slitters with its 00- sons,among them the fact that it has been acting roller. Fig. 9 illustrates adetail in I00 found impossible to feed stalks of any conperspective ofthe reed-flatteningdevice. Fig. sidera'ble variance in size; also, thenecessity 10 illustrates three views in section of .the

stalk or reed in its passage through the machine. Fig. 11 illustratesthe details of the separator mechanism, shown in perspective and viewedfrom the under side. The parts in this figure are shown in a verticalposition instead of nearly horizontal, as in the actual machine, becausethereby the construction is more clearly illustrated.

In the drawings and following specification I set forth an embodiment ofmy invention in operative form; but it is given as one illustration onlyof a manner in which the parts may be constructed and combined.

The machine may be supported on any suitable frame or standard. In theillustrations shown, for the sake of stability I have employed twostandards, one on each side, with a heavy channel-iron cross-bar attheir upper ends and suitable braces below. The upper ends of thestandards are shown at A.

B is the upper cross-bar or channel-iron; O, the main driving-shaft,upon which is the main driving-pulley D, provided with belt E. Any othermeans for driving the machine may be employed.

The main shaft and coacting parts are supported uponhorizontally-extending side bars F, which are transversely connected byangleiron braces G at the end.

H is a feeding-table located at one end of the machine, upon which thereeds are placed. At the end of this table are deflectors I, which guidethe stalks as they are fed by hand or otherwise into the hoppers K. (SeeFigs. 1, 3, and 5, wherein L represents one of the stalks.) Immediatelyin front of the hoppers are the primary feed-rolls M and N. The upperrollers N are grooved, as shown best in Fig. 7. The lower rollers M arepreferably fiat-faced and corrugated transversely, so as to grip andfeed the stalk more surely.

In this machine I have shown two hoppers K K and two sets offeed-rollers, slitters, spreaders, 85c. Obviously the number of theseparts may be increased or reduced to one, as desired.

The rollers M are mounted upon a transverse shaft O, which is set inbearings 0 upon opposite sides of the machine. The upper grooved rollersN in order to compensate for stalks of difierent sizes are each mountedupon a separate swinging frame P, (see Fig. 6,) which hasforwardly-projecting arms or side pieces P P with a cross-shaft P uponwhich the grooved rollers N are rigidly fastened, and upon this shaftthere is also located a gearwheel Q, which meshes into a pinion orgearwheel R, mounted upon a shaft S, upon which the frames P arefulcrumed.

The shaft S extends from side to side of the machine and is properlyjournaled upon the side frames at T, as shown in Fig. 1.

U U (see Figs. 2, 4, and 5) are curved arms or posts bolted to the sideframes and which projecting upwardly are connected by a cross-bar V attheir upper ends. In this cross-bar are threaded screws W, which have ashoulder W beneath the cross-bar B, and a downwardly-extending stemWiwhich passes through a coiled spring W seated on the swinging frame P,as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 6. By this construction it will be seenthat the upper grooved rollers N can independently rise and fall by theswinging of the individual frames which support them respectively andthat the springs W will depress them into proper engagement with thereeds, so that the latter will beproperly controlled and fedirrespective of their size, and compensation will also be afforded forthe tapering form of the reeds. The gearing which actuates these rollersis or may be as follows: a, is a pinion on the main shaft, which gearsinto another pinion b on the shaft 0. At the opposite end of the shaft 0is a gear 0, which meshes into an idlergear (1, mounted upon a shaft 6,supported upon a stud f, which may be mounted upon the cap of thejournal-box g for the shaft 0, (see Fig. 4,) and the idler d meshes intoa gear h on the shaft S. 011 the shaft S adjacent to each of the groovedrollers N is a pinion R, which meshes into the gear-wheel Q, which iskeyed to the shaft P Consequently the grooved roller N is properlydriven at a speed the same as that of the flat feeding-roller M.Immediately beyond these primary feed-rollers there is a shaft is, uponwhich are grooved guiding-rollers m. They are located directly in linewith the feeding-rollers and are employed simply to guide the end of thereed from the primary feed-rollers between the slitting-rollers. Theywill not always be necessary; but they insure more accurate movement ofthe reeds through the slitters.

Immediately beyond the guide-rollers m are the slitters and coactin gparts. These slitters or cutters are sharp-edged rotary disks p, mountedupon the main shaftO. (Seen best in Fig. 8.) Adjacent to'them are thegears q, fixed on the shaft 0. Above the cutters p are the coactinggrooved rollers 7. They are mounted on shafts 8, supported in separateframes't, there-being a frame for each roller. The frames are fulcrumedon a shaft it, which runs transversely of the machine and is suitablyjournaled on the side frames at '0. These frames t are shown in plan inFigs. 1 and 3 and in partial elevation in Fig. 6 and in front view inFig. 8. They have a rising-and falling movement, as the sectionaldismensions of the reed passing through them may require. The rollers rare each driven by a gear 10, (see Figs. 6 and 8,) mounted upon theirshafts s.

The grooved rollers r are or may be held down to their work by thefollowing means: A cross-bar a, substantially the same as thebarV,heretofore described, is supported upon uprights b, which arebolted to the side frames, and at about the central part of theoscillating frames t screws 0 are provided having shoulders and adownwardly-extending spindle, the same as the screws W, above described,and a spiral spring 01, which bears upon the upper portion of theswinging frame, as at 6. Consequently the pressure of the spring d maybe properly regulated to hold the grooved rollers 1" down to their workwith the requisite pressure and so that the teeth of the gears whichactuate the parts will be in suitable engagement at all times.

The slitters or rotary knives are rotated by the main shaft on whichthey are mounted. The upper grooved rollers are rotated by reason of theintermeshing of the gears q and w.

Adjacent to each rotary cutter (indeed. preferably located on top of it,as it were) I employ a spreaderf to aid in flattening the slit reed. Itis shown in perspective in Fig. 9, and in shape it somewhat resemblesthe double moldboard of a two-way or drilling plow. It fits over theedge of the cutterp and is, in effect, a horizontal projection of thecontour of its edge, gradually flattening, howover, into a straighthorizontal surface, so that the reed while being slit will pass over thecutter directly out upon and over the spreader and by it be spread andflattened laterally into a flat ribbon-like form. The spreadersf may besupported in any preferred manner. I attach them to a cross-bar g, (seeFigs. 6 and 9,) suitably stayed at the sides of the machine.

71. i are two rollers suitably journaled in the sides of the machine.Upon the roller z" is an endless belt 70, which is supported by anotherroller, m. The several rollers are driven by gears n and respectively,and sprocket-wheels my, connected by sprocketchain 10 (receiving primarymotion by gearing with the main shaft on the opposite side of themachine, as shown in Fig. 1.) Beltstretching devices are provided bythreaded screws q, (see Fig. 4,) whereby the journalboxes for the shaftof the roller m may be moved and the belt tightened. If preferred, thestretcher may be constructed as shown in Fig. 2, which being awell-known construction does not require special description. I preferalso to employ a roller (12, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) which may bepositively driven by a gear g This roller aids in the proper control andforward movement of the ribbonized reed and is particularly useful whentheseparating devices,hereinafter to be described,are used. When theyare not used, however, this roller is desirable, since thereby theribbonized reeds are better supported against the action of the brushes.

The purpose of the rollers 71. and 'i is twofold. First, they lieimmediately adjacent to the spreader, and by reason of theirconsiderable pressure upon the split and opened reed efieetively flattenit, so that after passing between them it maintains its ribbonlikeshape. Another function of these parts is that the reeds may be held bythem firmly upon the endless belt it while subjected to the rubbingaction of rotary brushes about to be described, whereby the rough scalysurface of the bark, dirt, dry gum, &c., which may be upon it areremoved, thus greatly improving the quality of the product.

1 and 2 are shafts journaled on the side frames, and upon these shaftsare mounted rotary brushes. In the example shown they are composed ofeight radiating vanes or sections 3 3, &c., which may be flat pieces ofrubber or equivalent tough yet yielding material. On one of the brushes(that at the left in Fig. I show these radiating sections of rubberbacked up by metallic supportingpieces 4 4 almost to their outer edges.I sometimes find it advantageous to use these reinforcing-backs in orderthat the brushes may have the requisite stiffness to properly remove thescale, dirt, &c., from the fiber.

5 and 6 are pulleys on the ends of the shafts 1 and 2, respectively,whereby the brushes are rotated at a rapid speed. They preferablyrevolve in the direction of the travel of the flattened ribbons. As willbe seen, the reeds are slit and flattened into ribbon-like form by themachine in such manner that the fiber which is upon the exterior ispresented upwardly, so as to be adjacent to these brushes, the wood andpith being on the under side adjacent to the endless belt is.

The operations thus far performed on the reed are pictoriallyillustrated in Fig. 10, which shows three views of the reed as itappears during its passage thus far through the machine. 7 is theexterior fiber-the valuable part. 8 is the Woody material next to thefiber, and 9 is the interior pith. In the left-hand sketch of thisfigure a transverse section of the reed is shown in its naturalcondition. The central sketch illustrates the commencement and in dottedlines the conclusionof the slitting operation. The righthand sketchshows it in its flattened or ribbon-like form, with the fiber presentedupwardly and the wood and pith downwardly.

It will of course be understood that in actual practice the flattenedribbon, as shown at the right hand, is not so uniform and exact in shapeas there shown. The wood will sometimes be uneven and the fibersometimes slightly broken. The pith will be more or less removed becauseof its lack of consistency or strength. This figure is intended asillustrative merely of the general operation and appearance.

The fiber may be stripped from the flattened or ribbonized reedsproduced as above by hand, if desired, it being a relatively inexpensiveand easy matter to accomplish; but I prefer to do this work alsomechanically and by the employment of devices. substantially as follows,(see Figs. 1, 2, and 11:) Immediately beyond the rollers m and g are aseries of other rollers 10 11 12 13 14 15, each supported upon suitableshafts, as shown, which are properly journaled at their ends. Therollers 10, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are continuous, extending from side toside of the machine. The rollers 12 and 15 support an endless belt orcarrier 16, and the rollers 13 and 14 likewise support another belt 17.The roller 12 is positively driven by a belt-pulley 20, fixed upon itsshaft, and the roller 13 is likewise positively driven by the gearing 1819. (See Fig. 1.) Other means for driving these rollers may be employed.The rollerlO, likewise continuous, is driven by a sprocketchain 21, (abelt or other means may be substituted.) The roller 11 is made inseparate sections, so that, in eifect, as illustrated in the drawingshereof, it may constitute two rollers, each half or section beingadapted to properly coact with one of the sets of feeding, slitting, andflattening devices heretofore described. The construction may be asshown best in Figs. 1 and 11. The rollers or roller-sections aresupported in a frame 30, which extends crosswise of the machine, andimmediately beyond each of them is the device which I call thedeflector. These-devices are shown at 24. They are pieces of metal ofthe shape shown best in Fig. 11, and each is loosely mounted on a shaft25, which is supported in frame 30. The deflectors normally lie in theposition shown in dotted lines 1 in Fig. 2-that is to say, directly inthe path of the ribbonized reed-so that the front end of the reed willstrike against the upwardlycurving surface of thedeflectors,respectively, and be thereby deflected between the belts 16and 17 at the point where they come together over the roller 13. As soonas this takes place the ribbon is pulled tightly against the surface ofthe sectional roller 11,. with which it engages, and in order that thismay be accomplished more surely I speed the plates 16 and 17 somewhatfaster than the normal traveling of the ribbons. The friction of theribbon against the roller-sections at such times as they engagetherewith immediately rotates the sections with which the engagement ismade. Upon the end of each of these rollersections 11 there is a gear22, which meshes into the corresponding gear 23, one of which is mountedupon or attached to each of the.

deflectors above described, so that the instant the sectional rollers 11start in their rotation consequent upon the friction of the ribbon theshaft of the deflectors likewise moves in such manner as to bring thechisel-like edge of the deflector into contact with the wood and pith ofthe reed, pressing it into a groove or notch 26, made in theroller-sections 11 and which extends across them from end to end.

The impact or grip of the edge of the deflector breaks through the woodand pith and entering between the fiber and the wood effectivelyseparates or peels one from the other as the fiberis pulled forwardly bythe traction of the belts 16 and 17. The wood and pith 27 pass above theroller 10 and drop to the floor, or are otherwise carried away, whilethe fiber 28 passes upwardly between the belts, over the roller 13, andis delivered separately, as shown.

The relation between the roller 11 and the deflector is such that whenthe deflector is brought up against the reed its chisel-like edge isdirectly opposite the notch referred to in the roller 11, and after thewood and pith have been forced away from the fiber by the action of theedge of the deflector it crowds the fiber more or less into thetransversely-extending groove, so that the edge of the deflector actsas'a stop-pawl, engaging with the notch of the roller-sections 11,whereby further rotation is prevented, and also because of thedeflection of the fiber the separation of the Wood and pith therefrom ismore effectively secured. The roller 10 is provided simply as a guidefor the forward end of the ribbonized reed to properly control itsmovement between the delivery-belt k and the deflector.

It will be particularly noted that the rollersections 11 and thedeflectors which coact with them,respectively,are totally independent intheir action, and that there are to be in the machine as many of theseas there are separate feeding, slitting, and ribbonizing devices, sothat through the machine from end to end there are as many separate setsof these instrumentalities as desired, each set in alinement with itselfthroughout and independently acting. If one set for any reason shouldget out of order, there would be no interference with the operation ofthe other set or sets; also, if for any reason it was not necessary touse certain of the sets the others could be used. For example, anunskilled hand might be able to operate one or at most two sets ofdevices; one having more skill might operate more.

It is obvious that so long as there is a ribbon passing through eitherof the separators the friction of the ribbon against the rollersection11 will maintain the deflector in such position as to eflicientlyseparate or strip the fiber from the Wood and pith. In order to returnthese parts to their primary position with positiveness, I sometimesemploy mechanical means, such as a spring properly engaged with theparts--as for example, a spring of requisite stiffness, (shown at s,Fig. 11,) which, as shown in that figure, engages with the shaft 25 ofthe deflectors and takes a bearing on the frame 30-whereby as soon asthe ribbon has passed the roller 11 and the deflectors 24 they arereturned to primary position.

It will be observed that a small piece or v chip of the wood and pith 29will be left adhering to the extreme forward end of the fiber. Thisresults from the fact that the extreme end of the ribbon passes thedeflector before its edge is brought into contact with the wood and pithto separate them from the fibrous portion of the ribbon. This chip 29 iseasily separated from the fiber by simply switching the ends of thebunches as they are collected from the machine across a board or othersuit-- able device. They do not adhere with any considerable degree oftenacity at any time; but

after the drying of the fiber the separation is effected with greatease.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The reeds or stalks, whichmay be beneficially more or less stripped of their leaves and tops, arethrown upon the feed-table H and fed into the hoppers K. Theguiding-blocks I aid in properly presenting the stalks one at a time tothe primary feed-rollers M and N. They grasp the reeds and feed themforwardly over the guiding-rollers m to the slitters. In passing throughthe slitters the rotary cutters p slit the reeds on one side, and owingto the flaring shape of the sides of the cutter the reeds are not onlyslit, but are also spread open into a partially flattened condition.From the slitters the reeds pass over the spreaders f by which the cutedges are spread apart and lifted into a substantially horizontalposition, so that as they pass from the spreaders between thepressure-rollers h and '5 they are pressed into a flat condition. Asthey travel from the pressure-rollers h and over the endless belt isthey are subjected to the action of the rapidly-revolvin g brushes 3,-whereby the scale, dirt, gum, and other impurities are removed from thesurface of the fiber. From the brushes the flattened or ribbonized reedspass to the separators,where the fiber is stripped from the wood andpith in a manner fully described.

It will be noted that, owing to the fact that the feeding and slittingdevices are independent in their action and that one member of theprimary feed-rolls and one member of the slitting devices are verticallyyielding under spring-pressure, reeds of diiferent sizes, also alldiameters of the same reed, will be equally well acted upon by them, andit will also be noted that the form of the feed-rollers and of theslitters is such that the reed will always maintain a central positionrelative to them, so that it will be slit from end to end irrespectiveof its size and also irrespective of its tapering form, and it will beparticularly noted that the fiber is stripped from the wood and pithwithout exerting upon it any strain or injurious action whatever andthat it is delivered in perfectly straight normal condition withoutadmixture with particles of the wood or pith, cleaned of the exteriorscale and dirt, and free from snarls or other objectionable conditions.

I wish it distinctly understood, as before suggested, that I do notlimit myself to the details of construction or arrangement of the partsshown and described, for those who are reed, rotary brushes adapted toact on the fibrous side of the flattened reed,means to support the reedagainst the action of the brushes, positively-driven devices adapted tograsp the end of the flattened reed and pull it forward, means todeflect the end of the flattened reed into engagement with said graspingdevices, and means to strip the wood from the fiber actuated by thefriction of the fiber when pulled forward against said means, for thepurposes set forth.

2. The combination of a feeding-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, a spreader adjacent to the slitter, pressure devices forflattening the opened reed, positively driven devices adapted to graspthe end of the flattened reed and pull it forward, means to deflect theend of the fiattened reed into engagement with said grasping devices,and means to strip the wood from the fiber actuated by the friction ofthe fiber when pulled forward against the said means, for the purposesset forth.

3. The combination of a feeding-table, separable spring-actuatedfeed-rollers, a rotary slitter,a movable and spring-actuated groovedroller coacting with the slitter, a spreader adjacent to the slitter,pressure devices for flattening the opened reed, rotary brushes adaptedto act on the fibrous side of the flattened reed, means to support thereed against the action of the brushes, positively-driven devicesadapted to grasp the end of the flattened reed and pull it forward,means to deflect the end of the flattened reed into engagement with saidgrasping devices, and means to strip the wood from the fiber actuated bythe friction of the fiber when pulled forward against said means, forthe purposes set forth.

4:. The combination of a feeding-table, separable and spring-actuatedfeed-rollers, a rotary slitter, a movable and spring-actuated groovedroller coacting with the slitter, a spreader adjacent to the slitter,pressure devices for flattening the opened reed, positively-drivendevices adapted to grasp the end of the flattened reed and pull itforward, means to deflect the end of the flattened reed into engagementwith said grasping devices, and means to strip the wood from the fiberactuated by the friction of the fiber when pulled forward against saidmeans for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination of a feeding-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, and pressure devices for flattening the split reed,positively-driven devices adapted to grasp the end of the flattened reedand pull it forward, means to deflect the end of the flattened reed intoengagement with said grasping devices, and means to strip the wood fromthe fiber actuated by the friction means, for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination of separable feed-rollers, a rotary slitter, agrooved roller coacting with the slitter and separable therefrom, aspreader adjacent to the slitter, pressure devices for flattening theopened reed, positively-driven devices adapted to grasp the end of theflattened reed and pull it forward, means to deflect the end of theflattened reed into engagement with said grasping devices, and means tostrip the wood from the fiber actuated by the friction. of the fiberwhen pulled forward against said means, for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination of separable feed-rollers, a rotary slitter, agrooved roller coacting with the slitter and separable therefrom, aspreader adjacent to the slitter, brushing devices adapted to act on thefibrous side of'the flattened reed, means to support the reed againstthe action of the brushes, positivelydriven devices located beyond thebrushes adapted to grasp the end of the flattened reed and pull itforward, means to deflect the end of the flattened reed into engagementwith said grasping devices, and means to strip the wood from the fiberactuated by the friction of the fiber when pulled forward against saidmeans, for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination of a feed-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, a spreader adjacent to the slitter, pressure devices forflattening the opened reed, an endless belt for the support of theflattened reeds beyond the pressure devices,

rotary brushes above the endless belt adapted to act on the fibrous sideof the flattened reed, positively-driven devices located beyond thebrushes adapted to grasp the end of the flattened reed and pull itforward, means to deflect the end of the flattened reed into engagementwith said grasping devices, and means to strip the wood from the fiberactuated by the friction of the fiber when pulled forward against saidmeans, for the purposes set forth. j

9. The combination of a feeding-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, a spreader adjacent to the slitter, pressure devices forflattening the opened reed, rotary brushes adapted to act on the fibrousside of the flattened reed, and means to support the reed against theaction of the brushes, for the purposes set forth.

10. The combination of a feeding-table, separable feed-rollers, deviceson the table to guide the reeds between the feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom,,a spreader adjacent to the slitter, pressure devices forflattening the opened reed, rotary brushes adapted to act on the fibrousside of the flattened reed, and means to support the reed against theaction of the brushes, for the purposes set forth.

11. The combination of a feeding-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, a spreader adjacent to the slitter, and pressure devices forflattening the opened reed, for the purposes set forth.

12. The combinationofafeeding-table,separable spring-actuatedfeed-rollers, a rotary slitter,a movable and spring-actuated groovedroller coacting with the slitter, a spreader adjacent to the slitter,pressure devices for flattening the opened reed, rotary brushes adaptedto act on the fibrous side of the flattened reed, and means to supportthe reed against the action of the brushes, for the purposes set forth.1

13. The combination of a feeding-table, separable and spring-actuatedfeed-rollers, a rotary slitter, a movable and spring-actuated groovedroller coacting .with the slitter, a spreader adjacent to the slitter,and pressure devices for flattening the opened reed, for the purposesset forth.

14. Thecombination ofa feeding-table,separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, and pressure devices for flattening the split reed, for thepurposes set forth.

15. The combination of afeeding-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved roller'coacting with the slitter and separabletherefrom, pressure devices for flattening the split reed, rotarybrushes adapted to act on the fibrous side of the reed, and means tosupport the reed against the action of the brushes, for the purposes setforth.

16. The combination of separable feed-rollers, a rotary slitter, agrooved roller coacting with the slitter and separable therefrom, aspreader adjacent to the slitter, and pressure devices for flatteningthe opened reed, for the purposes set forth.

17. The combination of separable feed-rollers, a rotary slitter, agrooved roller coacting IIO with the slitter and. separable therefrom, a

spreader adjacent to the slitter, brushing devices adapted to act on thefibrous side of the flattened reed, and means to support the reedagainst the action of the brushes, for the purposes set forth. I

18. The combination of a feed-table, separable feed-rollers, a rotaryslitter, a grooved .roller coactingvvith the slitterand separabletherefrom, a spreader adjacent to the slitter,

pressure devices for flattening the opened acting with the slitter, aspreader adjacent to the slitter, and pressure devices for flatteningthe opened reed, for the purposes set forth.

21. The combination of a feeding-table, feed-rollers, a rotary slitter,a spring-cushioned grooved roller coacting with the slitter, and aspreader adjacent to the slitter, for the purposes set forth.

22. The combination of a feeding-table, feed-rollers, a rotary slitter,a spring-cushioned grooved roller coacting with the slitter, a spreaderadjacent to the slitter, rotary brushes adapted to act on the fiber sideof the flattened reed, and means to support the reed against the actionof the brushes, for the purposes set forth.

23. The combination of a feeding-table, feed-rollers, means on the tableto guide the reeds between the feed-rollers,a rotary slitter, aspring-cushioned grooved roller coacting with the slitter, a spreadingdevice adjacent to the slitter, pressure devices for flattening theopened reed, rotary brushes adapted to act on the fiber side of theflattened reed, and means to support the reed against the action of thebrushes, for the purposes set forth.

24. The combination of a feeding-table, feed-rollers, means on the tableto guide the reeds between the feed-rollers, a rotary slitter, aspringcushioned grooved roller coacting with the slitter, a spreadingdevice adjacent to the slitter, and pressure devices for flattening theopened reed, for the purposes set forth.

25. Reed-splitting devices embodying a rotary sharpedged disk, a groovedroller within which. the edge of the disk works, and means to yieldinglyhold the two together, for the purposes set forth.

26. Reed-splitting devices embodying a rotary sharp-edged disk, agrooved roller within which the edge of the disk works, means toyieldingly hold the two together, and gears to positively rotate bothdisk and roller, for the purposes set forth.

27. Reed-splitting devices embodying a rotary sharp-edged disk, agrooved roller within which the edge of the disk works, means toyieldingly hold the two together, and a spreader imposed upon thesharpened disk and being adjacent thereto, of substantially the contourof the edge of the disk, but flattening rearwardly until it attainssubstantially a plane or horizontal surface, for the purposes set forth.

28. In a deflbrating-machine, fiber-stripping devices embodying a pairof positivelydriven endless belts, a pivotally-supported deflector whichguides the end of the reed between the belts, a roller to which thedeflectoris geared, so located that the reed as pulled by the belts willrotate it, whereby the deflector will be brought toward it and engagewith the reed, for the purposes set forth.

29. In a defibrating-machine, fiber-stripping devices embodying a pairof positivelydriven endless belts, a pivotally-supported deflector whichguides the end of the reed between the belts, a roller to which thedeflector is geared, having a longitudinally-extending groove or recess,said roller being so located that the reed as pulled by the belts willrotate it, whereby the deflector will be brought adjacent to the saidgroove and engage with the reed, for the purposes set forth.

30. Ina defibrating-machine devices for stripping or peeling the fiberfrom the wood and pith, embodying a pivotally-supported, chisel-likedevice and a roller geared together, the two being so located relativeto each other that the reed in its passage through the machine willimpinge upon'the roller and rotate it, whereby the chisel like devicewill be brought toward the roller and engage with the wood-and-pith sideof the reed, for the purposes set forth.

31. In a defibrating-machine, devices for stripping or peeling the fiberfrom the Wood and pith, embodying a pivotally-supported chisel-likedevice and a roller having a longitudinally-extending notch or recess,gears connecting the roller and the chisel-like device, and meanswhereby the passage of the reed through the machine will cause rotationof the roller and consequent approach of the edge of the chisel-1ikedevice toward the said groove or recess, the reed lying between them,for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 10th day of January, A. D. 1901.

WARREN S. BELDING.

Witnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, EDGAR R. MEAD.

